


Phoenix, Fly

by wearethewitches



Category: Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Golden Trio FTW, Magical Accidents, Married Couple, Mental Link, Multi, Take it as you will, Temporary Amnesia, implied polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearethewitches/pseuds/wearethewitches
Summary: When Farah gets into a magical accident, Saul comes running - only to quickly realise that her accident is making her talkative.Very talkative.
Relationships: Farah Dowling & Ben Harvey & Saul Silva, Farah Dowling/Saul Silva
Comments: 5
Kudos: 90





	Phoenix, Fly

The spells hit her with all the force of a hurricane—and out on the grounds, Saul roared in pain.

Frightening his current sparring partner, the Headmaster of the Specialist Academy raised his hand to stop them from attacking further, turning his attention towards the school. He barely recognised his own voice as he barked, _‘CLASS DISMISSED!'_

He was already running.

 _Farah,_ he thought, feeling their bond shrink and cut off. Feet pounding into the muddy grass and then against the sand and gravel mix covering the yellow path, Saul followed the last wisp of connection in his mind, heading towards Alfea at top speed. For decades, they had been bonded, mind to mind and not in over fifteen years had Saul felt that much pain from Farah’s side of the link. When their crusade against the Burned Ones ended, they had left that life behind.

He needed to find her.

Forced to slow down when he entered the school, Saul first headed towards Ben’s favoured classroom, only to find him heading towards the cafeteria.

‘Farah-’ he started, but Ben interrupted him, grabbing his arm and redirecting him to the cafeteria too.

‘I felt it, too. She’s not herself. Listen,’ his friend insisted. Saul did, expecting the usual babble outside of his shields that came from all the untrained mind fairies in Alfea.

What he heard was not a student.

Farah’s mental presence was unfathomably changed, her mind echoing outside his barriers in a way that Saul, in his not inconsiderate knowledge of mind fairies, knew meant she was projecting. He’d be surprised if everyone in the school couldn’t hear her. Only the protections around his mind, secured and grounded by Farah many long years ago and tested by Rosalind until they could keep even Farah out on a good day, stopped him from sensing her discordant thoughts immediately.

**_SAUL!_ **

‘Farah!’ Saul gasped as she recognised him, her mental voice shaking with terror. A nearby mind fairy clutched their head and Saul hurried towards the cafeteria, where he sensed she was being escorted.

When he finally saw her, practically dragged by her students to sit down at a table, the full depths of her injury came to light. Bruises already blossomed across her face in a sharp, thick line centred around her eyes, red seeping throughout her ash-brown hair. When he approached her, Saul suddenly saw it—an advanced student’s runic containment field fizzing and sparking, ready to blow up in their face. In the vision, he—she—raised her arm and summoned a shield, but where it was strong on one end, it was weak on another. The blast was redirected right at Farah, instead of the child.

Shields taking a pounding, Saul staggered over to her, kneeling at her feet. Her hands sought his blindly and their bond lit up like a beacon. He sensed her retreating mind for what it was, jumbled and mis-managed. Parts of her were locked down inside shields of her own making, but others were caught out, left behind.

‘Farah,’ he repeated for the third time, pushing a sensation of calm on himself. He controlled his emotions and let Farah bask in them. ‘Farah, do you know where you are?’

‘Alfea,’ she said in a gasp, ‘but- but not. This isn’t our academy.’

Her words sunk like a stone in his chest. ‘This is our academy, our Alfea,’ Saul insisted quietly, watching Ben set his emergency bag on the table beside her, hurrying to collect his poultices and magical remedies. ‘You were blinded and hurt in an accident. Ben is here to help.’

‘Ben?’

‘I’m here,’ Ben assured, harried, but still managing to be soothing. Farah gripped Saul’s hands tighter.

‘Something’s wrong with me. I- I don’t understand anything.’

‘Don’t understand what?’ Saul asked, trying to gather more information.

‘People were calling me Ms Dowling,’ she said, ‘and asking me if I was alright. I didn’t know who they were. I still don’t know, Saul. Who were they?’

 _Oh no._ ‘I can tell your head’s not on straight,’ Saul told her, using his limited power over their connection to nudge a tendril of thought towards her shields, but all it did was rebound back, making her flinch in reality.

Around them, students were starting to gather, crowing the balconies and the corridors. Even some of the part-time lecturers were ogling them from within the herd. Saul wanted to snap at them to get back to class, but he doubted they’d listen, not when they’d had Farah in their heads making a mess of things.

Strangely, she laughed at his words, teasing, ‘Am I drunk? I feel very far away.’

‘No, you’re not drunk,’ Saul said, muttering to himself, ‘I hope.’

‘She’s not drunk,’ said Ben, ‘just amnesiac. She has a severe concussion, Saul. She needs to get to the infirmary.’

‘No!’ Farah returned to being frightened, ‘No, I’m not going! I can’t go, I can’t go, Rosalind will be disappointed.’

‘ _Fuck,_ ’ was the only thing Saul could say to that.

Then, to make matters worse, Sky pushed through the crowd with his classmates on his tale, the Specialists joining the Fairies. Saul thought quickly and came up with nothing. There was nothing he could do right now that would make one lick of a difference.

Sky gasped at the sight of her, ‘Ms Dowling?’

‘Who’s that?’ Farah queried, flinching as she tried to furrow her brow and failed, Ben making soothing noises as he worked his magic. Saul could see the injury already beginning to heal some, but whatever Ben did clearly wasn’t enough to stop it from hurting. ‘Saul, I don’t like this. Why can’t I see anything?’

‘Shh,’ he rubbed her hands, still knelt in front of her. ‘You got hurt in a magic lesson. You were protecting a student. They’re okay because of you.’

‘…oh,’ she murmured, relaxing some. A moment later, she said without recourse, ‘Sky was a hell-child. I can’t believe he threw up on my favourite dress.’

The back and forth disoriented him, but if Saul could do anything, it was roll with the punches. ‘The red one, right? He was three, just a baby.’

‘My _favourite,’_ Farah said, scolding. ‘I love that boy, but he’s always causing trouble. I can’t believe he interrupted our ten year anniversary, Saul! What I would do to reverse-’

‘Farah!’ Saul hissed, recalling that particular anniversary with an inappropriate burst of heat in his gut, knowing all too well that they are surrounded by students. A single glance at Sky showed he had guessed exactly what his toddler-self had interrupted, too.

‘He’s a baby,’ insisted Farah, gesturing with one of her hands wildly, ‘He doesn’t know what sex is!’

‘God,’ Saul leant his hand on their entwined hands, feeling twice the embarrassment on her behalf. Ben, the cocky bastard, let out a loud snicker that was mimicked throughout the cafeteria. What had been a serious incident had turned into a joke in seconds, but as Saul looked up again and saw the marks on Farah’s face, he couldn’t help the fear that dragged down his amusement. She could have died.

‘Laugh all you like, Benjamin,’ she said to Ben, ‘You’re still bald at the end of the day, while _we_ get to have all the kinky sex we like.’

‘As funny as this is, maybe it really _is_ time to move to the infirmary,’ Ben replied calmly, recognising where a line had been crossed. Saul was horrified.

‘Not going!’ Farah replied, still chipper. ‘Oh, where are Terra and Sam? I feel like I’ve not seen them in ages. Stop stealing them, Ben, they’re mine.’

‘You can have them,’ said Ben, ‘I think they’re in the infirmary.’

But Farah pointed her finger at him while he stuck a poultice on her face. ‘I’m not falling for that. Give me my children or I will use lethal force!’

‘Lethal force, flee-fal force,’ the earth fairy mocked. Farah gasped low, so very, very dramatically, putting a hand to her chest.

‘My honour. It is shamed.’

‘I’m sure Saul will defend you.’

‘Always,’ Saul muttered, backing that single fact up. In an instant, Farah seemed to melt, leaning away from Ben down towards Saul, hands moving to cup his face. Her fingers were soft and the scrape of her nails against his scruff familiar.

‘And forever?’ she asked.

‘Till the end of time,’ Saul promised, before gently pushing her back towards Ben and his healing ministrations. ‘I swore an oath.’

‘We should get married again,’ she mused quietly. ‘Where Rosalind isn’t. I hate her so much, Saul.’

‘A renewal ceremony could be fun,’ returned Saul, actually considering it. He ran his finger across her tattooed finger, where their rings sat in black ink, surrounded by stars meant to represent their eternal bond with not only each other, but with Ben and the children.

From the crowd, he heard the familiar voice of Riven ask, ‘Can we all come?’ Before either of them could even respond, there was a gentle swell of agreement from the students and for a moment, Saul was taken aback by their loyalty and caring.

Clearly, Farah was similarly flustered. ‘I’m not sure that’s appropriate.’

‘Sure it is!’ Riven continued, before pushing the line, ‘You call the Harvey kids your own, why not the rest of us?’

‘You’re a silly child, Riven, that’s why,’ said Farah, a familiar primness to her voice, even tinged with amusement and juvenility. ‘You think you’re the first bad boy to come through Alfea. Honestly, Ben could outstrip you when he was twelve.'

‘Oh, dear lord,’ said Ben, groaning, ‘You’re not referring to the weed incident, are you? That was an accident, I had no idea what I was growing.’

‘Didn’t stop you from selling it,’ Saul said, unable to resist. Farah snorted.

‘Or from turning the entire harvest kegger into a den of iniquity with some _very_ tasty brownies in our third year.’

‘Farah, I’ll kill you,’ Ben said serenely.

‘You love me, really,’ Farah said affectionately, reaching up to grasp the sleeve of his arm. Dutifully, he leant down so she could kiss the corner of his lips, then began to inspect her head closer than before, running his hand across the bridge of her nose. It was then that Farah went quiet, even in her mind. Something like a cloud swept across her psyche, before she spoke again, almost unintentionally.

‘Rosalind didn’t like it, that I loved you all. Whether it was my marriage to Saul or my relationship with you and Rose or the way Andreas and I went at it…she disliked it. She tried to make me forget, once.’ She spoke those words and Saul, all at once, felt colder than the highest peaks of Asgard. ‘Do you remember, Ben? I think we practiced it, together. She made you forget your own sister.’

‘And you reversed it,’ Ben replied, making Saul feel sick. _When the hell did this happen?_

‘She made me forget I was me, once,’ Farah said. ‘I was stuck inside my own head for three days.’

‘Okay,’ Saul’s fury rose in an instant. _‘What the fuck?’_

Farah looked in his general direction, still blind to the world. ‘I found my way out,’ she said, comforting him with words and with her mind, opening the bond a little more and nudging her mental presence against his own. ‘I’m here, Saul.’

‘But you weren’t, then,’ he pleaded, ‘When? How did I not know?’

‘You were away with Ben and Andreas,’ Farah told him. ‘Ironically enough, on your bachelor’s hunt, searching for dragons.’

Saul brought her hands to his lips, kissing them. His guilt was like a river. ‘I’m so sorry, Farah.’

‘It was a long time ago…I think,’ she murmured. ‘It doesn’t feel like a long time. Can you find Sam? He’s always been my favourite comfort baby. He doesn’t wriggle like a hell-child or try to eat my hair.’

‘Sam’s not a baby anymore, Farah,’ Saul told her, ‘He’s seventeen. Remember? You injured yourself and you have amnesia. You don’t know what you’re saying.’

‘I’m perfectly legible,’ said Farah, a frown forming. She squeezed his hand tightly. ‘Is Stella okay? She- I can’t-’

Hurrying to stop her from saying something Luna wouldn’t forgive, Saul rushes to say, ‘She’s perfect. Got some good friends, a better teacher.’

Farah scowls. ‘Luna is a brat.’

 _So much for that,_ Saul sighed, kissing her knuckles again. Ben silently indicated he’d nearly finished doing what he could here, so Saul tried to get her to leave again. ‘Infirmary time?’

‘Why would I need the infirmary?’

‘You’re hurt, concussed, blind and amnesiac,’ he nearly spat, terrified on her behalf. Ben was the best of the best, but even he could miss something if he wasn’t in the appropriate setting. What if the blast cracked her skull? What if she has a bleed in her brain that’s causing her amnesia? What if she starts to fit or leak spinal fluid through her nose? Saul has seen it all, fighting alongside her and even just as an instructor.

Farah listens to him of all of two seconds before snorting and saying, once again, ‘No. You’ll have to carry me.’

‘I’m taking that as an invitation,’ said Saul, standing up and with no intention of doing otherwise, lifting her into a bridal carry. Farah made a noise of surprise and slight confusion, a hint of terror floating across their bond, but she didn’t do anything to stop him.

‘Finally,’ muttered Ben. ‘You should have done that five minutes ago.’

‘Is moving her even a good idea?’

‘Probably not without a spinal board,’ his friend said calmly, though a spike of anxiety still flared in the back of his brain.

‘Right,’ Saul hitched Farah up higher, taking care not to catch her skirt with his arm to protect her modesty, at least. Turning, Saul then had got to stand front and centre in full view of the student body and miscellaneous teaching staff, holding his wife in his arms. With Farah’s arms around his neck, their mind so close they brush into a single space, he gives her one brief warning before he orders them all, ‘Get back to class!’

Thankfully, they scatter enough that he can escape the crush, finally heading for the infirmary.

It was only later, when Ben had pronounced Farah fit and well—her mind returned to one piece when the pain faded, leaving their Farah whole once more, without a drop of amnesia left in her—and sent her to recuperate in their private apartments, did Saul bring up all the things she said.

‘Rosalind shouldn’t have done those things to you.’

Face still bruised, despite Ben’s many healing spells and potions, Farah looked ashamedly away. ‘I shouldn’t have mentioned it.’

‘You should have _told_ me,’ Saul insisted, joining her on top of the bedcovers. Curled up in his arms, she got to hide her battered face, though her hand gripped his shirt tightly. He kissed her damp hair, cleaned of blood and stitched where it was cut. There were no cracked skulls, but there was a series of micro-fractures that would heal on their own. She was lucky she hadn't snapped her neck when she was blown back into the wall.

‘I’m more worried for Sky and Sam,’ she muttered. ‘I embarrassed them.’

‘You called Sam a good hugger and…well,’ Saul paused, ‘you more gave Sky nightmares than embarrassed him. I’m sure he’ll get teased for it by Riven, but they’ll work it out quickly, knowing them.’

Farah chuckled quietly, then said, ‘I called Luna a brat.’

‘It was caught on camera and it was as glorious as it was stupid. I’m sure Luna will understand that you weren’t yourself,’ he assured her. Farah laughed again, though, practically giggling.

‘We’re going to have to invite the whole school to our renewal ceremony,’ she whispered, which caught Saul by surprise. So much so, that he immediately laughed in shock, a natural grin forming as he realised it was true.

Promising her, ‘I’m looking forwards to it,’ Saul leant down and kissed his wife.


End file.
